“WHEN YOU’RE YOUNGER, you don’t realise how big they are until you get a bit older and talk to people away from the area. A lot of people know who Brigid’s are because of them. They put us on the map.”
Brian Stack was just a teenager when he watched St Brigid’s win their first-ever All-Ireland. His time would come later down the line, but in 2013, he was still waiting to become a man. He was looking down from the stand in Croke Park at those on the pitch making history for the people of Kiltoom and Cam.
For those still caught in the bloom of youth, the significance of such things take time to register. Years in Stack’s case. Without a full appreciation for the setbacks and heartaches that backboned their success, the assumption is that this will be the way of things for St Brigid’s every year. Why wouldn’t it? The concept of waiting 10 years for another All-Ireland final appearance seems unfathomable. But Stack soon learned.
Frankie Dolan was 35 when he kicked the winning point in the final moments of that thriller against Ballymun Kickhams. He was in the midst of a club career that had started in 1997 and included the hurt of an All-Ireland final defeat two years previously. There was total clarity in his mind when full-time arrived.
“I knew what I had put into it personally, and the older guys like Karol Mannion, Kilbrides and Shane Curran. An awful lot of effort to get there. You’re at the age where you think that I might not get back here again.”
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The steps taken by St Brigid’s to make the great ascent up the Hogan Stand can be traced back to 2005. A county championship success was followed by their first appearance in a Connacht final where they were humbled by Galway’s Salthill-Knocknacarra. The first wobble of an epic quest.
They returned the following season to capture their first senior provincial crown against Corofin, before being dethroned by Ballina Stephenites in 2007. They added a Connacht three-in-a-row between 2010 and 2012 at a time when they were also making their presence felt in the All-Ireland phases.
They lost the 2011 All-Ireland final to a more experienced Crossmaglen side and then fell short in the 2012 All-Ireland semi-final to their neighbours Garrycastle who come from the Westmeath side of their shared Athlone region. Then Garrycastle boss Anthony Cunningham had recently been in charge of St Brigid’s.
St Brigid’s came under new management again for the 2012-2013 season as Kevin McStay, Liam McHale and Benny O’Brien took over from Noel O’Brien. It was just the tonic.
“A lot of people probably thought that was the end of the journey,” says Dolan. In fairness the club looked outside the box and thought that we’d give this another rattle. Thankfully, they got Kevin, Liam and Benny and that was a masterstroke. That gave us a little bit of life again.
“They really suited the team. Kevin was there to manage, he wasn’t really getting involved in the coaching. That was down to Liam and Benny would give him a hand. The coaching suited the way we wanted to play and everything fitted perfectly. We won the league, championship, Connacht and the All-Ireland. I don’t think we lost a game all year including challenge matches, which is quite remarkable.”
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St Brigid’s made a horror start in that 2013 All-Ireland final. After ten minutes Ballymun had soared into an eight-point lead after two early goals from the fist of Dean Rock, and the boot of Philly McMahon.
Senan Kilbride struck for a goal to give Brigid’s a crumb of hope.
And that was enough to stop the leak.
Only four points separated the sides at half-time.
“2011 (defeat to Crossmaglen) definitely helped us,” says Dolan.
“All the big games that you play in, you get more experience to not panic. We were still getting chances to score and I suppose looking back on it, the wrong guys were at the end of the moves. The shooters like myself or Senan Kilbride would be taking those chances and Ballymun probably had us wrapped up defensively at that stage.
“And then when Senan got the goal, that settled us into the game and Ballymun went back a little bit. We started getting on top in the second half and clawed it back. But a lot of it was down to playing in big games, being behind wasn’t new to us. We trusted everyone around us.”
Karol Mannion added a second goal for Brigid’s early in the second half. It was a clever act of ingenuity to ram his fist at a bouncing ball on the edge of the square and fire his shot into the bottom corner. That was the equalising score on 36 minutes. Both sides added three more points to keep them tied as the clock turned red.
There was one minute of injury time to play. St Brigid’s defender Niall Grehan intercepted in front of the Cusack Stand, a counter-attack was launched. Dolan made his move to collect a pass from his brother Garvan.
“We got a bit of luck because the pass was a little bit slow. I took a chance to let it run across my body because there was a Ballymun player of over six foot coming towards me.
“I was thinking that if I go towards this, I will win the ball but I’ll probably get hit by him and the ball will spill. The ground was wet so I said I’d take a chance to see would the ball skip up into my hands without breaking my stride. Thankfully it did, and he went under me.
“I just about held my footing to pop it over the bar with my left foot.”
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St Brigid’s were standing at the top, sticking their flag in the mountain top. In the midst of all the green and red enveloping Croke Park, Dolan saw goalkeeper Shane Curran coming his way to express his gratitude for the accuracy of his teammate’s left boot.
“Shane was coming over to give me a hug or whatever normal people do. I remember looking to my side to a photographer and Cake [Shane Curran] saw him. He’s a pure showman and just grabbed me from the back of my head.
“I was trying to pull away but I couldn’t move. He smacked the smacker on him and I actually blame him for a disc being put out in my neck that day. I was in awful agony but I didn’t mind at that stage. I had to take a few weeks off work because I couldn’t move my left arm.”
The homecoming across the Shannon brought the team to the Hodson Bay Hotel for a stop-off with the sponsors of the team. Performing there that night was legendary Irish folk singer Phil Coulter.
“He sang a song with us,” says Dolan.
“He came into the function room. We came back to the clubhouse and the whole parish was there. A lot of people around the county too.
“I still think winning an All-Ireland with your club is bigger than winning it with your county. You’re in your parish, you go to school with these lads. I just always appreciated club football for that reason.”
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And now it’s over a decade since the greatest day in the history of the St Brigid’s club. Ronan Stack, the only survivor of the starting team, recently spoke about how one’s career disappears in the blink of an eye. The same can be said for All-Ireland victories. It’s an achievement that outlasts the players who deliver it.
Stack’s younger brother Brian is playing alongside him now. From the stands to the pitch. From the heroes he admired to becoming one himself.
They face a formidable opponent this Sunday. Glen have business of their own after losing last year’s All-Ireland final in controversial fashion.
Dolan finished up playing for St Brigid’s in 2017, having acted as player-manager during the 2016 season.
Their All-Ireland winning legacy will hopefully inspire another one on Sunday.
“We probably have a little bit more tradition than Glen. The young lads would have seen that growing up. That’s coming to fruition now in getting to an All-Ireland final, maybe a little bit sooner than a lot of us would have predicted.
“They’re a very young side but they’re very hungry. They’re very skillful and very mobile. The team that won the All-Ireland was probably more physical and bigger than the current team. They’re probably one of the lightest teams to contest an All-Ireland final at senior level.
“I think it will be a fascinating game. This Brigid’s team are starting out their journey and they have the footballers. If the Glen can’t match them, Brigid’s will do damage.”
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